Moonfruit Lounge - Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Comments

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Walt

Walt — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:12:55 +0000

We seem to be noticing a few customers having problems with seeing text only versions. We have carried out no releases lately, nor changed the software. What we have noticed is that some 'malware' blockers and security software packages have caused a few problems.

For example, Norton's Internet Security (2006) has an Adware Blocker that appears to cause a problem with the Flash Player loading. We've also noticed numerous comments on forums about products like Spybot which modify the registry entries and block the Flash Player from loading. In some cases just disabling the Ad Blocker will fix the problems. In other cases, as with Spybot, removing the program may not fix the problem as the registry entry (in your operating system) remains.

We are still investigating this but with only a few people experiencing this problem we are still trying to get enough information about the possible causes of this issue.

If you wish to contact us to ensure your problem gets dealt with and to provide us with as much detail as possible about when this started, what software you have loaded, what you've tried etc then please contact support using our alternate site:
http://www.sitemakerlive.com/en/sup...

Thanks

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - NatalieCK

NatalieCK — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:05:45 +0000

I've just started experiencing this problem in the last few weeks with my website which i do pay a subscription for. I've been through all suggested fixes posted above and none appear to work. I have upgraded from IE6 to IE7, reinstalled Flash Player 10 twice which hasn't helped, cleared my temp files and all other files i could delete but no joy.

Is this something that Sitemaker are aware of again? I have submitted a form but as yet had no reply.

Thanks,
Natalie.

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Mark

Mark — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:17:26 +0000

I'm running IE 7, have re-installed the latest Flash Player, and have checked I'm running Javascript, still text only.

Because I have a free account I have no access to support. Nice work Moonfruit people.

Mark

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Walt

Walt — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:41:49 +0000

Hi Alan, if you read further up the blog you will see this issue would have only affected those visitors who were returning - "...provided to assist those who have been regular visitors to sites using the IE6 browser. New visitors should not encounter this issue if they have JavaScript enabled and the correct version of Flash."

This was an issue in early December but we have had no further reports from customers relating to this upgrade. And as far as redirecting to Adobe, this is not possible. Visitors must always be given the choice (out of courtesy) of whether they follow a link or path to another site or not.

If you are currently seeing the text only version of your site and it has happened only recently then it would not be related to the above changes. I would suggest you use the support form using the link above or through www.sitemakerlive.com, create a query and give us as much information as possible about the issue.

Thanks

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Alan

Alan — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:22:49 +0000

So I don't actually understand what has improved with this now. If I go to my site with internet explorer 6 i see the text version and im asked to download adobe flash. If 200 of my visitors have to do this a day thats 200 potential customers i've lost out on. Is there not a way that this can be changed so people go directly to the flash site because at the minute it looks extremely embarassing on my behalf.

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Walt

Walt — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:23:55 +0000

Hi Katti,

Just checking through our Support system logs and I notice that there was a long dialogue with our support team on another ticket. I'm glad to see that you managed to resolve the problem.

I'm not sure what you tweaked on your system but the Active-X changes you mentioned should not have caused the fix. However, while tinkering with your browser settings the adjustments you made could well have affected the browser security and/or privacy settings and just may have done the trick.

Anyhow, well done and good luck with your other sites.

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Katti

Katti — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:03:38 +0000

I am extremely concerned by the problems I am still experiencing with my website. I am using IE 7 and I can tell you it is seriously affected by the java script issue. I've deleted my temporary internet files on several occasions but this only resolves the problem of text and no graphics. I've also upgraded to the most recent version of Flash in case that was the problem. Nothing I do seems to work. Over the course of the last few days the website is starting to fail to load up several images in addition to the other bugs it already had, ie links for pages 6 & 8 of the Catalogue cannot be selected or edited and when I try to re-size one of my images I am unable to un-select it afterwards. I'm anxious to get these problems sorted so I can complete the wesbite and I'd welcome any advice or suggestions you might have. Should I perhaps, re-install the IE 7 software again, would that help? Thankyou, a desperate Katti.

P.S I've had no actual help so far and sent several queries, my ticket no. is now: [Ticket#2008011701001664] I think, I've had so many I can't keep track with which one is open and which closed and it appears impossible to have a lasting dialogue with anyone.

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - John

John — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:00:46 +0000

Ok. Thanks and i appreciate your comments.

Sorry, if i maybe sounded a bit off....
it's just that i wasn't able to get it working at work for a few months originally as you had upgraded to a newer flash player at that point (was working fine before then) then all off a sudden about a month or so ago everything started working again ok from work then another couple of updates happen from your end again & then it suddenly doesn't work again.. it's just very frustrating that's all but thanks anyway.

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Walt

Walt — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:20:20 +0000

Hi John,

We ask customers to send a query as we pick up information about their system e.g. operating system, browser version and type, account details, Flash player version, any add-ons. All this helps us eliminate any obvious problems. At present we have no outstanding issues, as far as we are aware, with sites rendering in text, other than your site, so we are keen to find out why. This is why we need your assistance by sending us a query. It also enables us to track a query and ensure it does get responded to.

The only other cause of this sort of issue that we can think of is either your IT department use a proxy server - that clearing of your browser cache won't fix - or they are blocking JavaScript, which is essential for SiteMaker to run. This is not us uncommon as you would think and it may be worthwhile talking to your IT department just in case they have made any changes to the IT system or enhancements to system security.

Depending on the feedback you get from your IT department you can always respond to the reply we sent, detail what they said and we will endeavour to find an alternative solution.

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - John

John — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:22:12 +0000

Thanks for suggesting me to send a query however i would've hoped for more than just a standard reply which i was sent by the looks of it. I could've told you what you told me in your reply before sending it (in fact i did in my first post).

what was the point??????????? (shakes head)

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Walt

Walt — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 12:28:44 +0000

Bernih, if you haven't already (and we have searched against username and email address without luck), please submit a query from within your site giving us as much detail as possible about when you encounter this problem, i.e. specific pages, specific steps before this happens. Doing this will assist us with trying to determine the problem as quickly as possible.

John, the fix was released last week. If you have cleared the cache as originally suggested and you still see a text version of your site at work then please submit a query from your work system by using the form at http://www.sitemakerlive.com/en/sup...

Thanks

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - john

john — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:38:03 +0000

when is this release as you put it going to kick in as i am still having the same problems at work and as advised before cannot upgrade anything through my work as they will just not do it. It was working fine a couple of weeks ago.

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - bernih

bernih — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 08:50:56 +0000

Hi Walt,

Thanks for your comments. There do however appear to be intermittent problems. Every few hours the website will freeze and I have to go through the entire deleting files process. Funnily enough the actual Moonfruit homesite freezes too at the same time. I've tried all other websites and these are fine, and have tried other Moonfruit sites, but these also freeze.

Any ideas?

Thanks for your input so far its been most valuable.

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Walt

Walt — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:46:21 +0000

Hi Bernih,

We understand your frustration and do apologise for the inconvenience that has been caused. We certainly do our best to maintain quality control and ensure testing is extensive before release, but bugs do escape. And if we had been aware of the IE6 Browser issue we certainly would not have released that section of code.

So what have we done to reduce this sort of 'experience'? What we did introduce earlier this year is a procedure that now stops the 'text-only' version appearing for a large number of users every time we do a release. In this recent case it occurred with a small number of visitors, using IE6 only which, while not ideal (and should not have happened), only affected returning visitors - not new ones. By the time we became aware that a problem did exist we began informing customers how to correct the problem themselves but we also then took steps to fix the bug so that returning visitors to our customers' sites would not encounter any problems. Sometimes finding the root cause of an issue so that it can be fixed takes longer than the fix itself. Which is what we did, as quickly as we could.

We also understand your concern for giving prominence to business related sites. Our aim is to ensure every single one of our customers have maximum access to their sites with minimal disruption and that is something we continue to strive for.

We would like to say thanks for your patience and your continued support.

Walt

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - bernih

bernih — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:21:18 +0000

We've had terrible problems with this for the past 3 - 4 days. As a business we were very concerned potential clients would get fed up and not bother trying to access the site, and so we would lose their custom. I agree that this is an issue sitemaker needs to sort out and stop re-occuring in the future, as we cannot tell potential customers what they should do to resolve the problem.

We have been unable to access our site ourselves until today, but it looks as if the problem is now fixed so well done for fixing it.

However, this was a major issue, and one that could have lost us business, so I think emails telling business sitemaker clients the problem would have been helpful, and what was being done to rectify the problems.

Business Moonfruit sites should be given priority treatment above hobby and free sites.

Anyway, thanks for rectifying the problem.. we're very pleased!

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Walt

Walt — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 13:23:39 +0000

You raise a good point and it is one we have already been looking at.

The instructions above were provided to assist those who have been regular visitors to sites using the IE6 browser. New visitors should not encounter this issue if they have JavaScript enabled and the correct version of Flash. This was also a solution while we looked at other options.

Last night we performed a release, the key element being an upgraded to the release number. This means that for anyone re-visiting a site, their browser will be told the SiteMaker version number is different from the one their system has and force their browser to reload the pages (they are viewing) from the site. The affect is the same as clearing the cache but is performed automatically without the visitor knowing.

We are confident that this should fix the problem.

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Rufruf

Rufruf — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 11:56:35 +0000

It's all very well telling us how we can fix the problem, but what about site visitors? You can't ask everyone who visits a site to carry out this lengthy solution before they can view it. Customers just won't bother. And it creates an awful impression. No this problem needs to be rectifed by sitemaker. As soon as possible.

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Walt

Walt — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 10:27:16 +0000

Hi Phil, most applications, especially Microsoft products, will provide the version number by going to the toolbar then clicking on Help > About [Product Name].

So for IE just go to "Help", then click on "About Internet Explorer" and a panel will be presented with the version number and the Product ID (serial number).

For Flash, as long as you have placed your mouse over a Flash object, e.g. on your site (although not over a text box on one of your pages) then using the right mouse button (just right click) will produce a 'context menu' and at the bottom of that you'll see "About Adobe Flash Player #..." where the # is the version number. If you click on that link a new page will open on the Adobe website and you'll be told the exact version number, e.g. "You have version 9,0,28,0 installed"

If you want to upgrade either your IE web browser or your Flash version, please use the links provided in the main article above.

Walt

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Phil

Phil — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 01:16:12 +0000

Hi, I reckon I have the latest IE, but how do you find out what version you have and where can you download the latest version? Same goes with Flash, where do I find out what version I currently have?

Why am I (or my visitors) seeing a text only version of my site? - Arif

Arif — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:27:39 +0000

This has happened to me at work, too. It all used to work fine - and then at some point this year - it just goes to the Flash/text-only version screen.

This is embarassing - but I put it down to work blocking Flash - but loads of other things do work in Flash at work - e.g. YouTube and product video demo's.

Cache-clearing does not fix.